The Traitor
by Dr. Huff-Puff
Summary: She had killed a lot of wizards and Muggles upon her master’s orders, but she had never killed a fellow Death Eater. SnapeOC. R&R!
1. Chapter One

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own any of the HP characters, and you all know that by now! Valentina Forester is my own creation, though.

**NOTE: **Thanks to Cyndi for being the bestest beta on Earth! I loffs you Dee! smooooooch!

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**The Traitor – chapter one**

"Bring me his head." Voldemort's voice hissed through the dark cave.

Valentina could feel her body freeze when she heard those words. Yes, she had killed a lot of wizards and Muggles upon her master's orders, but she had never killed a fellow Death Eater. He was the one who killed the traitors with a swish of his wand.

"As you wish, Master," She said with a bow.

She apparated from the cave feeling confused about her task. She was unaware of the reason why her Master had asked for the head of the traitor. She had only three days to complete her task, and for the first time in her life, she was uncertain whether she wanted to obey her Master or not.

She lay on her bed in a cheap room at the Leaky Cauldron, thinking about what she was about to do. Of course, she could always seduce him and take him wherever she wanted and get her work done, but Severus Snape was one stubborn brat who never trusted anyone but himself.

This was going to be difficult. She needed help, but if she asked for it, her fellow Death Eaters would start talking about her saying she can't do a simple task on her own. She'd lose her reputation as one dreaded Death Eater. She has worked so hard to get to where she was now. Even though, the wizarding world hated her more than they hated any other Death Eater.

She had been the one to kill Cornelius Fudge, the former Minister of Magic. He was an easy task, she used her body charms to get him to invite her to his house, and before he could lock the door of his private chambers, she hit him with the Killing Curse from behind. That was her style. Hit the target from behind when they're not looking. That specific task had gained her respect amongst her fellow Death Eaters, and she wasn't about to lose it.

An owl landed on the windowsill of the room and hooted softly. Valentina raised her head and saw a familiar tawny owl holding a parchment in its beak. She got up form her bed and walked to the window. The owl flapped its wings in happiness as she took the parchment from it, and then it flew inside and landed on a table. She knew it was hungry, and gave him a piece of bread.

While the owl started eating the bread, Valentina opened the parchment and started to read:

_Dear Miss Forester,  
My wife and I would like to invite you to the Annual Masquerade at the __Malfoy__Mansion__, which will take place tomorrow evening at __8 pm_

_Sincerely,  
L. Malfoy_

_P.S.: The Dark Lord will be pleased._

Valentina read the letter a couple of times before she understood what the post scripted note actually meant. Severus Snape was going to attend, and that was her only chance to see him and get her task done.

"Why is it that Lucius Malfoy always knows what the Dark Lord wants?" she addressed no one in particular, but the owl flapped its wings and she assumed it meant 'I don't know'.

She took out a piece of parchment, a quill and a bottle of ink and scribbled a note:

_Dear Mr. Malfoy,  
Thank you for your invitation. I will gladly attend at the mentioned time._

_Sincerely,  
V. Forester_

She folded the letter and attached it to the owl's leg and it flew out of the window instantly.

* * *

The Malfoy Mansion was one of the biggest and most beautiful houses in England. Valentina apparated in front of the house five minutes early, wearing a black hooded cloak. She rang the bell and waited. Soon enough, a house elf opened the door and bowed to her.

"Welcomes, Miss," the house elf said, "Master and Mistress is waiting in the dance hall."

Valentina looked at the house elf with a raised eyebrow. _Waiting in the dance hall._ Valentina wondered whether this was one of Narcissa's jokes. But the letter was written by Lucius, that's for sure.

The house elf took her cloak and Valentina stood in front of a huge mirror that covered one wall of the entrance hall. She examined her looks and smirked. With that outfit she'd have all of the wizards kneeling in front of her.

She was wearing a tight leather top that showed most of her chest and shoulders, with tight leather pants, which showed every curve of her hips. The black mask that she had on her face showed only her eyes and lips, she made sure that no one but the Malfoys would recognize her. After all, they were the ones who invited her.

She let her dark straight hair flow down to her waist, and a single lock of white hair decorated it.

Her black leather gloves extended to her elbows, covering the dark mark on her left forearm.

She finally entered the ball room. Narcissa Malfoy was the first to greet her. At the beginning she didn't recognize her guest, but with one word spoken Narcissa knew that her mysterious looking guest was no other than Valentina Forester.

Lucius Malfoy was the next to greet her. He held her hand and kissed it gently as a sign of respect, which made Valentina shiver. Lucius Malfoy always acted as the perfect gentleman when he wanted to.

Valentina walked through the room slowly, checking each and every guest around the place until she finally spotted her target: Severus Snape, who hadn't even bothered to dress up for the masquerade and wore his usual black robes. A black eye mask was covering his eyes. But with the crooked nose and the pursed lips, Valentina recognized him almost at once. She stared at him when she noticed he was staring. She walked to the bar and Severus followed her.

"May I offer you a drink, my Lady?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you." Valentina replied.

She would've slapped herself if she could at that moment. She feared that he would recognize her voice. But fortunately, he didn't. He ordered them both some fire whiskey.

After she took the glass from his hand (and made sure their hands made contact), she held her glass a bit high and nodded to him. He smiled and returned the salutation.

Severus took a sip of his fire whiskey and kept staring into her eyes. Valentina knew that Snape was a skilled legilimens and she made sure she avoided direct contact with his eyes.

"What's your name?" Snape asked.

Valentina took a final sip from her glass and turned to look at him, remembering to avoid direct eye contact.

"That's not the best way to start a conversation." She replied.

"Well, that seems to be a pretty long name," he replied, making sure she'd hear the sarcasm in his voice, "Do you happen to have a shorter name?"

Valentina didn't answer. Instead, she folded her arms on her chest and kept looking at him.

"Severus Snape." He said.

"Valentina Forester." She replied.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Forester." He took her hand and planted a kiss on it.

Valentina noticed Lucius Malfoy looking at them from a corner of the room. She knew he was going to report everything that he saw to the Dark Lord.

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Snape." She said.

"Professor Snape, please." Snape said, gently letting go of her hand. "I am the Potions Master at Hogwarts."

"How interesting," Valentina smiled. This was going to be easier than she thought.

"Not as interesting as to finally see you here," he said, "You've never been to any of the Malfoy social parties, not to mention a masquerade."

"Well, I happen to have more interesting things to do."

"So, I gather that you didn't have any interesting 'thing' to do tonight?" he asked.

"The night has just begun. I don't have any plans, yet."

Snape's thin lips curved to show a smile. He was interested in her. He knew Valentina Forester to be a skilled Death Eater who would kill anyone who stepped in her way. She was one of Voldemort's favorites.

* * *

Hours passed and Valentina kept talking to Snape about different issues. Neither of them mentioned the Dark Lord or any of his plans. Although, it would've been safe for them to do so, since everyone in the ballroom was a Death Eater. Only Voldemort was absent.

By the end of the ball, the guests started to leave. Valentina was on her way out after bidding Lucius and Narcissa good night. She put on her cloak and walked to the door leading outside. A firm hand rested on her shoulder and she turned to see to whom it belonged. She wasn't surprised to be greeted by the cold eyes of Severus Snape.

"Do you have any plans for the night?" he asked.

"Not yet," she replied, "unless you want to give me some ideas."

"As a matter of fact, I do." Snape said.

They left the Malfoy Mansion together and walked for a while without speaking and neither of them having any specific idea about where they were heading to. Although, Valentina knew where she would take him if it was needed.

Valentina felt awkward. She knew she was falling for the Potions Master and she had to finish her task as soon as possible. Finally, Snape broke the silence.

"Where do you want to go?" he asked.

Valentina smirked. _Finally_ she thought to herself. "I know a place where we can be alone." She said. Her voice was confident. Perfectly hiding any anxiousness she had inside.

"All right and where would that be?"

"I have a little cottage at the Sherwood Forest," she said, "I'd like to take you there."

"That sounds fine. Are we apparating?"

"Yes, if we want to get there before next week"

Snape smiled. "Fine, where are we apparating exactly?" he asked, "I don't want to show up at the other end of the forest, you know."

"You know that there's a little village right at the edge of the forest, don't you?"

"I do. Would the river separating the village from the forest work?" Snape asked.

"Yes, there's a little bridge connecting the two sides of the river. We'll meet there." Valentina said and with that she took out her wand and disapparated.

A broad smile covered Snape's face. It was the first time that he finally managed to find a woman that interested him, even if she was a murderer. All his previous ones were arranged dates organized by Lucius Malfoy. He always knew that Lucius didn't have taste in women. Well, at least when it came to others. That didn't apply to his wife. Narcissa had a stunning beauty of her own.

Snape took out his wand and disapparated to the mentioned place.

**TBC**


	2. Chapter Two

**The Traitor – Chapter Two**

Valentina was standing near the bridge looking at the dark forest when she heard a familiar pop behind her. She turned around and saw Snape.

"I see you've found your way pretty easily." She said.

"I had a good tour guide to show me the way," he replied with a smirk.

"Let's go then. It's not so far from here."

They walked through the forest for about thirty minutes. Snape was already losing his patience as he kept cursing under his breath at every plant that dared to be on his way.

"Here we are." Valentina said.

They were standing in front of a large, wide clearing which seemed to be very bright under the moon light.

"There's nothing here." Snape said with a confused look.

"There will be now." Valentina waved her wand and a small cottage appeared in the center of the clearing.

Snape raised an eyebrow and followed Valentina as she led the way to the cottage. When they reached it, she pointed her wand at the door and muttered a few incantations, by the end of which it was opened.

"Impressive." Snape said as he followed her inside.

"You can't trust anyone around here." She waved her wand at the door and it locked itself.

Snape noticed shelves covering one wall of the room. There were many brown vases on them, and each had a date written on it. He stepped closer to them and started reading. There were no signs as to what can be inside the vases. He turned to look at Valentina and saw her take off her cloak and throw it at one of the two armchairs.

"They're ashes." She said.

"Ashes?" he was surprised. He didn't know she had noticed him reading the dates carefully.

"Family. No one wanted to get buried, so I keep them here." She said as she sat down on the couch and lifted her legs up on it.

"Oh." Snape said, "I see that one of them has died recently. About a month ago. Please accept my sympathies."

_For the trolls' sake! What does he find so interesting about the darned vases?_ She asked herself. In fact those vases contained the ashes of her victims. She had turned their bodies into ashes and kept them in those vases. She marked the dates only to remember when she killed them. She didn't want to remember whom she killed.

When she didn't reply, Snape took a last look at the vases and went to sit on one of the armchairs.

"You seem to have a large family." He said.

"Yes, a very large one." She said. She had her elbow rested on the back of the couch, and her hand on her nose bridge. Her eyes were closed.

"Are you feeling all right?" he asked and went to sit next to her on the couch.

She pulled her legs to her chest, to give him space to sit. "I'm fine. It's just a slight headache. I think I've had too much fire whiskey."

He got up from his seat and went to kneel behind her. He took her head in his hand and tilted it back to rest on the arm of the couch. He started massaging her temples. Valentina groaned as her headache started to subside.

Snape continued massaging her temples until he noticed one of her hands fall to the side. She had fallen asleep. He got up and put her hand on her stomach. She looked beautiful and innocent while asleep, he thought. His plans for the night had been spoiled. He'd leave her and go home, but that wouldn't be nice. After all, he wanted her to trust him. Gaining the trust of Valentina Forester wasn't an easy task, and he wouldn't want to lose what he had achieved until this moment.

He looked around the place and saw a small staircase heading upstairs. He wondered where it came from. Besides, the cottage didn't seem to have a second floor from outside.

"You have charmed your own cottage pretty good." He muttered and went upstairs.

There he found a room with only one double sized bed in the center. _This must be her room_, he thought. He pulled the cover of the bed opened and went downstairs to get Valentina.

He carried her gently and took her upstairs and laid her in the bed, pulled her leather boots off and then pulled the covers on her and turned to head to the stairs.

"Stay."

He turned around to see her turn to a side, her eyes still closed.

"Stay with me, please." She said.

Snape raised an eyebrow at her request. Valentina Forester would never sound so innocent and nice unless she wanted something. He didn't know what she wanted, but if she had asked him to stay, then it must've been for a good reason. And that reason was something that Snape wanted too. At least, that's what he thought.

He took off his robes and sat on the edge of the bed. It was going to be uncomfortable if he was going to sleep with his clothes on. He took off his shoes and lay down on the bed, next to her. They faced each other, although Valentina's eyes were closed and she was breathing slowly.

Snape moved a lock of hair from her face, and his hand touched her face. She had a soft skin, he thought. Finally, he fell asleep.

About a couple of hours later, Valentina opened her eyes and saw Snape sleeping next to her. She smiled. Her plan was working. She lifted her head slightly and saw his robes folded neatly and put on a chair, and his wand was on it. She slowly extended her hand to her thigh and found her wand there in its usual place. She took it out and pointed at Snape's wand with muttering a levitation charm she levitated it and brought it to her. Her next step was tying Snape to the bed. Fortunately to her, he was lying on his back. She slowly got off the bed, making sure he wouldn't feel her moving and pointed her wand at him.

"Incarcerous!" she whispered and ropes erupted from her wand and tied Snape to the bed.

"What the..." Snape opened his eyes instantly and tried to get up.

"Shut up, traitor." She said firmly.

"What? What're you talking about?" he asked. How much did she know about him, and how?

"You perfectly know what I'm talking about, Snape" She said, "You've betrayed the Dark Lord's trust. Now you have to pay."

She took out a dagger from the drawer next to her bed and walked to the other side, where Snape was lying.

"What are you going to do?" he asked. He wasn't scared. He knew this day was going to come sooner or later. But he didn't expect that Voldemort wouldn't do it himself.

"The Dark Lord wants your head, and he's going to receive it." She said and put the dagger on his throat. "Any last wishes, Professor?"

Snape took a deep breath. He should do something, but how was he going to do anything while tied to the bed?

"You brought me here for a reason, and I came here for another." He said, "You're going to kill me, and your task is completed. May I at least get a part of mine done?"

"And what would that be?" she asked.

"A kiss."

Valentina felt like a tank of cold water had been poured on her head. _A kiss?_ None of her victims had asked for that before. Not that she asked them for a last wish anyway. But this had confused her. She didn't know whether she should grant his wish or reject it.

Snape could see the confusion and distraction in her eyes and he also could feel the dagger firmly placed on his neck. This was the best time for him to do something.

"Accio wand!" he yelled and his wand flew to his hand. He didn't know where was it directed at, and he didn't care. "Reducto!" he yelled next.

It all happened so fast. Apparently, Snape's wand was directed at the staircase. The spell blew off the wall and that made the floor lose balance and crash.

**TBC**

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**Replies to reviewers:**

**Ajnastarheart:** Here's what happens next :) and let's just say Snape wasn't smart enough this time ;) Thanks for reviewing!

**Cyndi Black:** Did I tell you how much I loffs you?

**Gavroche****-Girl:** Updated! Now you know what happened :P


	3. Chapter Three

**The Traitor – Chapter Three**

Snape opened his eyes and found himself covered with dust and pieces of wood. The whole cottage had collapsed because of one spell. He got up and felt a bit dizzy. He felt his head was wet for some reason and when he touched it, he looked at his hand and saw blood. Great, he had injured himself and when he looked down at his clothes, he found them ripped.

He looked around expecting to see the forest, but instead he saw that he was inside a large dark place. He couldn't find his wand at first, but after looking for it, he saw it on the ground and picked it up.

"Lumos!" He said and there was light.

All he could see was piles of woods and broken furniture. Suddenly he remembered that he wasn't alone when it happened. Valentina was there with him, but he couldn't find her anywhere.

"Miss Forester?" he called for her, but didn't receive any response. "Did she manage to escape?" he wondered, but something told him to keep looking.

After a few minutes, he saw a hand under a pile of woods.

"Oh, Merlin." Snape muttered and rushed in the direction of the hand. He levitated the larger pieces of the damaged furniture, and moved the smaller ones out of his way by hand. Finally, he was kneeling next to the hand and looked through the pile. He saw Valentina lying there motionless.

"Valentina, can you hear me?" He pushed a chair away, which made the pile of wood move. If he moved anything else, the whole thing was going to crush her.

He touched her hand and found it warm. _Thank goodness,_ he thought, _at least she's alive_. He got up and pointed his wand at the top of the pile.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

He levitated each piece of the broken wood and furniture out of the way, and finally managed to get them off Valentina's body. Her right leg was bent in an awkward angle. Snape knew she had broken it. Several cuts, scratches and bruises were covering her face and body. Her clothes were ripped as well.

Snape kneeled next to Valentina and put his head close to her face. He could feel her breath and sighed in relief. He was starting to like her, although she was about to cut his head, but he didn't want to leave her here to die. It wasn't in his nature to do so. He immobilized her and picked her up, then apparated to his apartment in London.

When he was there, he put her on his bed and pulled the bed covers on her. Now, he had to get a healer. St. Mungo's would've been his first choice, but he didn't want them to see the Dark Mark on her forearm, so he decided to get Madam Pomfrey.

He went to the living room and took out a vase that contained floo powder out of a cupboard, and then he walked to the fireplace and threw some of the floo powder into the fire, which started to give green sparks.

"The Hospital Wing at Hogwarts." Snape said in a clear voice. He knelt in front of the fire and put his head threw it.

* * *

Snape's head popped out of the fire place at Madam Pomfrey's office, which caught her off guard.

"Severus! Merlin's beard! You startled me!" she said and put a hand on her chest.

"Sorry, Poppy. But I need your help. I have an injured.. friend.. at my house." He said.

"You look quite injured yourself!" she said as she got up from her seat behind her desk. "What happened?"

"No time to explain. Can you bring the Headmaster with you?"

"Yes of course. We'll be there at once."

With that, Snape pulled his head out of the fireplace and went back to his room, where Valentina was lying on his bed. The bed sheets and covers were soaked with blood. Snape cursed under his breath. He wasn't concerned about his favorite bed sheets, but for Valentina, who had obviously lost a large amount of blood.

A couple of minutes later, Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey entered Snape's bedroom. Both had a confused look on their faces as they saw Valentina lying in a pool of blood that resembled Snape's bed. Snape was sitting in an armchair, his eyes were closed, but at the moment Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey entered the room he opened his eyes and got up.

"Severus, what happened?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"It's a long story, Headmaster." Snape said, "can we discuss it outside? I'm sure Poppy needs privacy with her patient."

"Yes, of course." Dumbledore said.

"Not without dealing with my first patient!" Madam Pomfrey said. She took out her wand and pointed it at Snape and muttered an incantation, which made Snape's wounds heal instantly. "Now you can go out." She said with a smile.

"Thank you, Poppy." Snape said and turned to leave the room.

"Severus, can you at least tell me what caused this?" She asked. "I need to know that so I will know what to start from."

"A cottage collapsed on us both." He said. Madam Pomfrey's eye opened wide in shock. "Her leg is broken, by the way." He added and left the room.

Madam Pomfrey started her work at once. First she healed the minor cuts, and then the larger ones. Then she started working on Valentina's broken leg.

Snape and Dumbledore went to the living room. They sat down on the couch and Dumbledore turned to face Snape.

"Who is she? And what happened exactly?" Dumbledore asked.

"Her name is Valentina Forester." Snape said.

"Valentina Forester? The Death Eater?"

"In the flesh.. or at least, what remained of her flesh." Snape replied. "I was at the Malfoy Mansion. As you know, Lucius organized a Masquerade Ball. She was there, too. So, we met there. To tell the truth, Headmaster, I liked her. She was different from what I heard about Valentina Forester. At the end of the Ball we went to a cottage she owns, somewhere in the Sherwood forest..."

Snape told Dumbledore everything that happened in details, without missing anything. The Headmaster listened to the story patiently and when Snape was finished telling his side of the tale, Dumbledore looked at the fire place, the usual twinkle in his eyes missing.

"The question now is: how did Voldemort know?" Dumbledore said.

"I wish to know that myself. I know that I haven't done anything to give him doubts about my loyalty to him, and as you know, I'm not a social person. The only Death Eater I am in contact with out of the DE meetings is Lucius Malfoy."

"I guess we should investigate about this. I will tell the Order to take care of that." Dumbledore said. His eye twinkle has returned as he looked into Snape's black eyes. "So, tell me about this girl. Why did you save her in the first place? After all, she was going to chop your head off, and we're not certain if she wouldn't try it again."

Snape sighed. _Did he have to ask that question? Out of all the questions in the world, he had to ask THAT?_

"All right, from the look on your face I understand that you don't want to talk about her. I'll respect your choice. But please be careful. I do not want you to lose your head, Severus." Dumbledore said with a knowing smile.

"Don't worry about me, Headmaster. I can take care of my head perfectly." Snape replied and tilted his head back on the couch. He was tired. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This had been a long night.

The sun was starting to rise. Professor Dumbledore conjured a blanket and put it on Snape, and then he went to see how Madam Pomfrey was doing. He entered Snape's bedroom and saw Madam Pomfrey pulling the cover over Valentina, making sure her broken leg was positioned a bit higher than her body.

"How is she doing now?" Dumbledore asked.

"Everything is under control." Madam Pomfrey replied in a whisper. "She's asleep. Well, didn't wake up, anyway."

"She must've lost a large amount of blood."

"She did." Madam Pomfrey turned to look at Valentina. "Anyone else would've died by now."

"Why would you say 'anyone else'?" Dumbledore asked.

Madam Pomfrey lifted Valentina's left arm and showed Dumbledore the Dark Mark.

"I see that you've noticed it." He said.

"How can I not notice?" The healer replied. "Should we inform the Ministry about her?"

"Not yet. I believe Severus has some questions he would want to ask her first."

Madam Pomfrey nodded. Professor Dumbledore stepped closer to the bed and stared at Valentina.

"It is such a pain to see a great wizard's daughter follow the dark side." He said.

"You knew her father?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Anthony Forester. We were in the same house. He was three years older than me." He said. "We got to know each other only when I became a member of the Wizengamot."

"Is he alive now?"

"He died twenty years ago." Dumbledore sighed. "Well, I guess we should go back to Hogwarts."

"But, Headmaster, what about her?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Severus will know what to do."

They went to the living room and found Snape sleeping on the couch. They quietly took a bit of floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. Then they returned to Hogwarts.

**TBC**

* * *

**Replies to reviewers:**

**Taivaantuli: **He's still alive in this chapter ;)

**Ajnastarheart: **Well, you can never be sure what would happen when Valentina is around. She faked her sleeping on the couch, otherwise, why would someone wake up after only a couple of hours if they have been drinking a lot? I wouldn't wake up, that's for sure. lol! I would love to see Snape have his 'wicked way' with her, too ;) but that one isn't for this story. Hehe. Thanks for reviewing:)

**Dalamis: **This was it! ;)


	4. Chapter Four

**The Traitor – Chapter Four**

Valentina opened a bruised eye and winced at the pain her body was causing. She noticed her right leg hanging in the air and when she tried to pull it down, she couldn't. So she assumed it was magically lifted. Then she tried to sit up, but failed again.

"What's going on?" she tried to get up again and failed. "Is there anyone here? Help!" she called.

Snape opened the door and entered. He leaned at the door frame and crossed his arms over his chest and stared at her.

She looked at him with a confused expression. "I can't move. And my leg is hovering in the air!"

Snape didn't answer. He kept staring at her.

"Why are you staring at me?" She asked, starting to feel irritated. "I need some help here! Ow!" she winced again because of the pain in her side.

"Serves you right." Snape said with his cold tone.

"What did I do to deserve this?" she sighed, then looked at him. "Besides, am I supposed to know you?"

Snape looked surprised. "Please stop playing that pathetic game, Miss Forester."

"What game? And what did you call me?"

"You don't remember anything?" Snape walked to the side of the bed.

"What are you talking about, Mister?" she inquired. "I have no idea who you are, why is my body aching and I..." she paused for a moment and had a look of terror on her face. "Oh my goodness. I don't know who I am." Tears were starting to fill her eyes.

"Look at me, Miss Forester." Snape said, when she kept staring at the sky, he repeated in an ordering tone. "Look at me!"

She looked at him in the eye and instantly felt that her privacy was being invaded. Snape was trying to read her mind, but he couldn't find anything to start with. Her mind was an empty black space.

"You've lost your memory." He said calmly.

"I... what?" she blinked.

"Do you know what your name is?" he asked and she shook her head.

He pulled a chair and sat next to the bed. He took out a napkin from his pocket and wiped her tears.

"Do you know who I am?" She asked him.

"Your name is Valentina Forester." Snape replied. He was about to continue telling her about being a skilled Death Eater but he decided against it.

"How old am I?" she asked, holding back a sob.

"To be honest, I don't know." He replied. "I think you're in your early thirties. I'll have to ask the Headmaster."

"Headmaster?"

"Professor Dumbledore," Snape said. "The Headmaster of Hogwarts."

"Oh.." she said, not sure what Hogwarts was.

Snape looked at her and wondered what would have she been like if she hadn't been a Death Eater. He felt guilty for keeping her tied to the bed, knowing that she doesn't remember anything about her task, but he couldn't free her now. He couldn't trust her yet.

"I should take you to Madam Pomfrey." He said finally.

"Who's Madam Pomfrey?" Valentina asked.

"She the medi-witch at Hogwarts." He said and got up. He went to the living room and took out some floo powder from the floo jar and threw it into the fire and put his head in.

"The Hospital Wing at Hogwarts." He said and his head popped out at Madam Pomfrey's office.

"Poppy, are you there?" he called.

Madam Pomfrey came into the view as soon as she heard her name being called.

"Severus?" she kneeled in front of the fireplace. "How are you feeling now?"

"I'm fine, thank you." He replied. "I need to ask you if I can bring Miss Forester to the Hospital Wing."

"Is there something wrong?" she asked.

"She's got amnesia." He replied. "Doesn't remember anything."

Madam Pomfrey got up and paced back and forth. "I don't know Severus. The new term is going to start within a week, and I don't like the idea of having a Death Eater inside the school."

"So you don't like me being there, too?" he teased.

"Of course not, you silly boy!" she smiled. "You're not evil. But she is, and any moment she could get her memory back."

"We'll talk about that when we get there. Until then can I bring her there? I don't want to leave her all alone in my house."

"All right. But I'm going to have to tie her to the bed." She said.

"That's fine with me." He said and pulled his head out of the fire.

He got up and went to his room and found Valentina sleeping. He opened his wardrobe and took out a new set of clothes for himself and went to the bathroom to get dressed. When he was done, he returned to the room and prepared his suitcase, making sure he didn't wake her up in the process. After putting the last pair of socks in the suitcase, he shrinked it and put it in his pocket. Then it was time to wake Valentina. He was going to have to carry her through the fireplace, which made him feel uneasy. He hated carrying people, especially such a beautiful young woman. He sighed and bent over her and shook her gently.

"Valentina, wake up." He said in a whisper.

Valentina opened her eyes and was met with black eyes which were piercing through her mind in an instant. She gasped and closed her eyes again.

"Sorry," Snape said and straightened himself. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's all right." She replied.

"I'm going to untie you now, and I'll take you to the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts." He said.

She nodded silently and in her mind she wondered what a Hospital Wing would look like.

Snape waved his wand her and she could feel the invisible ropes around her body disappear. Then he waved at her hovering leg and it dropped on the bed, which made Valentina scream in pain.

"Bloody hell," Snape cursed. "Pardon me." He managed to hide a smirk.

"Are you crazy!" she yelled at him. "Get me to that Hospital place, quickly! It hurts like hell!"

Snape muttered a few more curses under his nose and picked her up from the bed. She buried her face at his chest and grabbed his robes tightly. He didn't bother to use a pain relieving charm on her leg. In Snape's opinion, having amnesia didn't rid Valentina from what she almost did to him the night before.

He walked to the fireplace and cursed again, as he didn't manage to get the floo powder out of the jar without dropping it. So, he put Valentina on the sofa, and then took some floo powder out of the already broken jar and threw it into the fireplace. Then he picked Valentina up again and stepped into the fireplace.

"The Hospital Wing at Hogwarts." He said and they were both transferred into Madam Pomfrey's office.

"Poppy?" Snape called as he walked out of the fireplace. When he didn't hear a reply from her, he proceeded to the infirmary and found her there preparing a bed for her new patient.

"Oh, you're here!" she said. "Put her on this bed over here." She pointed at the bed she had just finished preparing.

Snape put Valentina on the bed, as gently as he could do it and stood there looking at her. She wiped her tears and looked away from him.

He extended his hand to remove a lock of hair from her face, but she caught his hand before he could touch her.

"Don't." she said dryly, and turned to look at him. He could see hatred in her eyes. "You've helped enough."

He pulled his hand and walked out of the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey looked at the two of them with a raised eyebrow.

When Snape was out of the infirmary, Valentina curled to her left side and stretched her right leg and started crying.

"Why are you crying, my girl?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"My leg." She said between sobs. "When he was untying me, he let it drop and it didn't stop hurting since then."

"Oh for the love of Merlin!" Madam Pomfrey said and took out her wand. "That boy needs to be taught some manners."

Madam Pomfrey helped Valentina turn to lie on her back and then she started muttering an incantation which eased the pain in the broken leg. Then she made it hang in the air just as it was at Snape's place.

"Did you drink your medicine this morning?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"No." Valentina replied. "I didn't know I had to."

Madam Pomfrey sighed. "Severus needs to... all right. I'll just talk to him later. Now, back to you." She said and summoned a bottle that had a skull for a cork and it had the word 'Skel-E-Grow' written across it. "You're going to drink this potion for a couple of days. It'll help to mend your leg."

"Will it hurt?" Valentina asked.

"No. But it doesn't taste good."

"I don't care. As long as it wouldn't hurt."

Madam Pomfrey smiled and poured some of the potion in a little glass and gave it to Valentina to drink. She helped Valentina to sit up and drink it.

"ugh!" Valentina almost spit the potion out. "That's gross!"

"No one said that medicine should taste like pumpkin juice." Madam Pomfrey shrugged. "Now, you should lie down as I'm going to tie you to the bed."

"Again?" Valentina protested. "I was tied at that house as well, and I don't even know why am I being tied up!"

"I don't think it's my place to tell you, child. So, I'll just do my job and let the Headmaster or Severus answer your questions." Madam Pomfrey said. "Sorry."

Valentina made a sound that seemed like a growl and lay back on the bed. Madam Pomfrey started casting the binding charms and Valentina could now feel the invisible ropes tightly wrapping themselves around her. She sighed and closed her eyes. There was nothing she could do about it. She was hoping she could get her memory back soon enough so she could find out the reason why she's being tied to the bed.


End file.
